by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration and Education
A joyous and crafty THANK YOU to all who made this Holiday Fair happen and to all who participated in the fair, the auction, and the shopping!! We brought in approximately $6300, and made a LOT of new friends.
Special thanks to Kirsty Johnson Erikson who worked all year securing crafters and vendors, organizing the table rentals, money and the floor plans! A lot of work!! Thanks to Cheryl Leshay, Dianne Mann, Ruth Silver and Betty Jenewin – the Auction Team! Thank you to so many in our congregation who offered items to put into the auction, whether hand-made, hosting an experience like sailing lessons or a guided hike. Thanks to those who secured gift cards, offered their vacation home. This first try at virtual auctioning proved to be quite successful. We beat our goal by $1100 and made $3600! For sure, we will continue to add an auction to all future craft fair events.
The basket raffles were a hit as well, thanks to Dianne Mann and Cheryl Leshay and Ruth Silver…securing beautiful items from sponsors and assembling eye appealing baskets!
Then the entire church was set by Jenny Delgizzi, Cheryl Leshay, Vickie Cox-Lanyon and Mike Mitzcavitch to welcome our 30 crafters and vendors!
The fair started up slowly, but began picking up at 10:30 am and we had a nice flow of traffic all day. Thank you to our on-the-ground fair crew: Kirsty Johnson Erikson, Vickie Cox- Lanyon (our signage and advertising pro), Dianne Mann, Sue Neaz, Jenny (our very own Christmas Tree mascot), Ruth Silver, Melissa McKeon, Beth Posner-Waldron, Kim Mann (aka: Santa), Ciara Derr, and Aaron Payon and Paul Marr (tech and promotion). Thank you to Janet Stone for collecting Christmas items to sell on behalf of UUCW and for working the table all day!
And finally, after a fun, feel-good, and bustling day…. The clean up crew kept going to put all that was set up, away. The signs came down, the tables were folded up, the church was reset and we were ready for Sunday service the next morning. Thanks to Pete Lanyon and Mike Mitzcavitch, Fidelma, Vickie Cox-Lanyon, Cheryl and Bruce Leshay.
This seems like so much work…but it’s good work and we left the building feeling like we showcased who we are as church community. The event was saturated with kindness, openness, pride; sort of like a healthy family-owned establishment. Customers wanted to hang out and talk with us. Many were interested in learning more about our church community.
Sunday, after we drew names on the 30 raffles, I made phone calls to the winners. Everyone, of course, was delighted to win a prize. But even better, the folks who I spoke with while on the phone, or in person as they picked up their winnings, were so complimentary of our event. They said it’s their favorite fair because it feels good. Many inquired about the church, the children’s programming, and how to get involved in volunteering. So when I said we made some good money on the event, it was true….but more importantly, we made friends in the community at large. We worked together as a team. We put our best foot forward in a difficult time to be having events…and it worked because we care.
That’s our community, a caring one, full of good energy and hearts. I was glad to be a part of this 100%! We already have 15 crafters signed on for next year….so next year, here we come!
Holiday Cheers!
Robin